Pulse of the Party
by Who really Knows
Summary: Au: ShikaTema; One little horror story, co-written with Whispers of the Party, read if you want its a SasuNaru or other way around, i really have no energy for this T T Also I HAVE TO SAY IM VERY NERVOUS ABOUT THIS so plz review
1. Chapter 1

Summary: Paired with Whispers of the Party, recommend you read both!

**PAY ATTENTION TO DATE! I normally don't do stories this way, because quite frankly I get annoyed with it, but this one does have that so pay attention!**

**Just a warning! This story starts on Day two, and then goes back to day one with Shika! If you're wondering why I didn't just switch the chapters, its because I have writer OCD syndrome and it was driving me insane to have them odd T-T I think I even added a few short fillers just to even it out with the actually planned ones**

**Also just for Kicks, Kankuro is older in this one than his siblings so no-one get mad at me! But Temari is a year above everyone else.**

**Chapter One: Puke**

Friday, February 22 : Day Two

Lights hummed with electricity, covering the white and black checkered walls with a florescent effect on the entirety of the room. The blonde girl sitting absentmindedly on the pale floor couldn't decide if the look was welcoming or nauseating. Then again, everything was nauseating lately.

"Temari!" called a loud voice pounding at the door, "Are you dead?"

Temari groaned, heaving herself off the floor and walking to the sink, "Shut-up Kangy and let me wash my hands!"

"Don't call me that!" Her brother replied weakly, "Just hurry up!"

Rolling her eyes at her own reflection, she quickly washed her hands and face before rechecking her hair for the hundredth time since three am.

Opening the unlocked door, her brother peeked in warily, his features switching from irritation to concern at the sight of her. "You alright?"

"Never better freak." She replied, shoving him aside with a playful smirk.

"Would it kill you to be a woman?!" Kankuro called after her, reassured by her act, before locking the bathroom door behind him.

She flipped him off through the walls before entering her bedroom, sighing she leaned on the door relaxing her sore back against its hard surface.

Her room was much darker compared to the intensity of the bathroom, of course the think purple of the curtains heavily contributed to the total absence of light. At the beginning of the summer when her and her siblings first moved in, Temari was intent on having the plainest room possible, until about a month or so ago when she was struck with the sudden inspiration to make her room royal purple and black,

A "unique combination" as her youngest brother Gaara observed, their Father couldn't help but subtly criticize her after the comment, expressing his distaste for the colors together. A girl should have white, that was his weak argument, but Temari only glared it off stating simply, "I'm the only one who has to look at it."

The truth was, she chose those colors for one reason only, and she was in love.

Walking home one afternoon, thoroughly pissed, glaring at everything that bothered to make contact, she spotted a yard sale. For Temari, this was a rare event to witness, something she only heard about in the passing of conversation. So when the tables cluttered with various objects came into view, she made no hesitation to inspect the area. Shifting through old electronics, jewelry, outdated shoes, and children's toys, until she reached the very back corner of the yard, by that time she was mostly bored with looking at the clothing that dominated this area and was about to turn around until something caught her attention. Reflective light bouncing off a mirror captured her, dragging her over to inspect the oddly squiggly shaped black dresser with stark royal purple accents. She paid for the furniture on the spot without a single thought other than the decision to build herself a whole new world with this single act marking her new beginning. She would erase it all, everything that had been bothering he for the last couple of weeks and move on.

After calling Kankuro, then arguing with him for what felt like an entire hour to get his ass up off the couch, then winning with the loss of next month's allowance, then pacing impatiently up and down the sidewalk while Kankuro made the drive down in his attention grabbing pick-up truck, then having to shove the damn dresser onto the damn truck wearing nothing but heels, then helping with the unloading of the heavy prize, then arraigning it in the center of the left wall walking in, and then digging through her wallet for the amount owed to Kankuro who suddenly wanted a bit of an advance.

Then, then, after all of the pestering annoying irritating "then's", Temari set out to complete her goal.

She went on a spending frenzy. Hiring workers to paint and re-carpet her room, which took two days of suffering in the spare guest room, and going on a shopping spree for new furniture to fill in the time. Until, finally, she stood in her room, complete and more amazing then she ever dreamed. She remembered letting herself fall on her new queen sized bed for the first time, it was like ascending from the heavens into the soft grip of clouds. It was her prize, her brand new start.

Now looking at the room, she wondered what kind of new start this really was.

* * *

Later that day:

Look at it. The soft color of its insides, the sweet exotic aroma, the way it turns into mush with even the slightest touch of pressure, "Are you okay Temari?"

Snapping out of it, Temari realized she was watching her friend Hinata consume a banana with a little too much enthusiasm, "Uh, yeah, I'm just kind of hungry, your banana is distracting."

"But you don't like bananas." Hinata replied with a concerned look across the table, beside her Tenten eyed Temari carefully. Was it a bad idea to invite them over? Mused Temari, they were seated at her dining room table, playing cards and having a good time, well at least they were when Temari wasn't acting suspicious.

"Yeah but I haven't had them since I was a kid and I'm almost eighteen!" Temari reasoned with a shrug, "Tastes change over time, I've been thinking that trying out foods I didn't like when I was younger would be a good thing for me recently, and stubbornness isn't good all the time!"

"Right?" Tenten said with a raised eyebrow, grinning at Hinata, "You grab her arms and I'll take her temperature."

"I'm not sick." Temari glared even though that wasn't necessarily true, her back was killing her, her head was pounding, and she really just wanted to nap.

Hinata reached out and patted her on the shoulder lightly, smiling as she commented, "I think that's nice Temari." That's why Temari liked Hinata, she didn't pry and she didn't accuse, she just listened, "Here, you can have a piece; I think I brought more in my backpack if you like them."

_Oh god, it's good!_ Inner Temari sighed with delight as the chunk melted in her mouth like chocolate, "did you invite Ino and Sakura?" Hinata asked looking at the time on her phone, "It's almost eight."

"Mmm….they said they couldn't come, Ino took Sakura to do some last minute date shopping. It seems like Sasuke invited her out randomly to make up for his blunder last weekend when he went out with the basketball team on some kind of trip with Coach Guy instead of taking her out on a date or something like that." Temari explained savoring the taste of a new yellow fruit gifted to her by Hinata. Even when it wasn't basketball season, the basketball team was always practicing, no matter the season or the time. Why? Because the only coach in the entire school, had an almighty pride in their prestigious reputation for the teams outstanding feats, and he seemed to be unable to coach any other sport with as much success.

Therefore once you signed one for basketball, you were joining a gang for life, even if you quit.

"Ugh! Sasuke, that jackass, I don't see how she can stand him!" Tenten groaned, shuffling cards with a look of distaste, "I mean come on! Really? I love her but the woman needs to be hit with a brick! You know last weekend he only "supposedly" went on that trip right?"

"What do you mean supposedly?" Hinata asked, while Tenten began dealing.

Looking around to make sure the wandering ears of Temari's brothers were nowhere around, Tenten leaned in quietly and whispered, "I heard from Neji that Sasuke told him he wasn't going on the trip and to cover for him. When Neji asked what he was doing, Sasuke said he was going out with another woman on a trip for this weekend, and didn't want anyone to know."

"What?!" Temari and Hinata gasped in unison, wide-eyed as their cards rested idly in their hands.

"How did you find out? Why wouldn't Neji tell me something like that about my friend?" Hinata questioned, frowning at the table.

Tenten only smirked and winked, "Pillow talk."

"Ew." Temari grimaced, deciding to flip the conversations focus back on the woes of Sakura's relationship, "I know Sasuke can be mean to her sometimes, but I never knew their relationship was that bad."

Tenten shook her head, "Yeah I know right? Normally anything Neji shares with me I don't tell you guys but that was just too terrible. It's not like he's married to her, so if he doesn't want her why doesn't he just break-up with her?"

"Have you met Sakura?" Temari reasoned, cursing herself. She should have known better when she ran into Sasuke earlier that weekend in the gas station outside of town that something was off, personal things her ass. Deciding that there was nothing she could do about it now, she may as well continue to fringe ignorance of his absence on the trip, this was none of her business, it was Sakura's. She would leave the couple to solve the problem for themselves.

The three girls had fallen into silence, sinking into their own individual thoughts. Biting her lip, pretending to stare at the cards in her hand, Temari studied the situation with her friends warily. Could she really share with them her new found trouble? Sure, just a few seconds ago Tenten was blabbing on and on about Sakura's issues with her boyfriend, but that was more like common knowledge amongst their circle of friends. The kind of topic that comes up in whispered conversations over the phone, or in the corners of a party, or even at the lunch table when neither were present to overhear it. Temari's issue was different, it was a true secret, something that really truly had yet to hit the gossip fan's and blow a shit storm of complications into her life.

Unfortunately, this wasn't a secret she could keep for too long, and having acknowledged that she came to terms with picking someone to tell. When she overheard Sakura excitedly boasting to Ino about the date, Temari knew it was her chance to get Tenten and Hinata over alone without insulting anyone.

Still, now that she had time to think clearly and was staring right in the faces of her two closest friends, she decided that it would be best to know for sure before bringing them into anything, no matter how scary it is.

It was settled then, she would do this alone.

**This is my first ShikaXTema so be nice T-T I'm making it kind of short, maybe around 10-15chapters? So Review~!**


	2. Chapter 2

**EEEEEEEE I cant believe I'm writing this? *Slams head on wall repeatedly***

**Chapter Two: Gossip Land**

Thursday Feb 21: Day One

"Do you have my money?" Shikamaru rolled his eyes, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a wad of money he slid across the lunchroom table toward Kiba Inuzaku. The brunette grinned at the sight, "How do you manage to sell so much chocolate?"

Ever since Kiba joined the high school basketball team, he's been bribing Shikamaru to sell the chocolates he received every freaking year with an exchange of slavery. For every chocolate bar sold, Kiba would do everything from bringing Shikamaru food to secretly completing his chores. Kiba was no salesman, but his mother was always all over his ass about it, so for him it was ideal, "I stand outside the gym closest to my house."

"Why people go there to lose weight?" Kiba questioned, sliding Shikamaru's breakfast across the table.

"Exactly." Shikamaru pointed out with a chuckle, opening the sack without touching anything.

"Oh that's just wrong." They both continued to laugh for a few more seconds, letting the joke flutter in the wind before Kiba leaned across the table, motioning for Shikamaru to do the same, "You know what's really just plain wrong? I know you'll just love to hear it."

"What?" Shikamaru couldn't resist, the only time Kiba used that line was when it was about his most favorite person in the world. And yes, that was sarcastic.

"Sasuke Uchiha." Kiba pointed clear across the lunchroom to the small chattering group of people Shikamaru vowed to never speak to without chocking on air and suffocating to death. " Get this, he tells Sakura he's going on the trip with us right? You know, the camping trip or whatever, and then he told Neji, who told Tenten, who told Ino, who still hasn't told Sakura but told me in biology, that he wasn't going to the trip and to cover for him while he goes see another chick? Isn't that insane?!"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes, "please tell me there's something juicer than that?"

"Yeah." Kiba stated in an "of-course" manner, " Anyway, you're the first person I've told this to, but this past weekend I was at my favorite local convient store and you know who walked in?"

"Who?" Shikamaru craned, dying to hear some new magnificent dirt on the jerk.

"Sasuke, and Temari!" And then, the bliss was gone, it wasn't Kiba's fault he didn't know anything about Shikamaru's secrets. "They came in kind of separately, but they stopped to talk in the corner or whatever, and then went their separate ways again. You know me, I was curious, so I sneaked down the aisles and asked Bojo, my nickname for the cashier, if I could hide behind the cash register, and when Temari made her way out of the bathroom and came up for checkout do you know what she was buying?"

"No." The other male said, fearing the answer.

"A pregnancy test." That was it, he was dead, truly very very dead. He could feel the curl of his fingers into fists, ignoring the anger he let out a deep breath. _You have to play your part to the very end_, he remembered.

"Seriously? So you think Uchiha knocked-up Temari? And lied and told Sakura he was going on the trip with the rest of the players, so that he could sneak off and do a pregnancy test with Temari, her friend?" Kiba nodded at Shikamaru a grin plastering his face, "okay, will you do me a favor Kiba?"

"Sure master." Kiba joked, opening his own breakfast for consumption.

"Don't tell anyone else, I need it for blackmail." Shikamaru pressed, Kiba's eyes widened, a million questions filling his mind. But he only nodded in response, and the pair finished their breakfast in silence.

Skipping the last period of the day, Shikamaru lounged outside, waiting for the familiar dirty blonde hair to walk out the hidden back exit like she always did. He decided to confront Temari on this newfound information, did she really betray him that easily?

This all started at a wild party two months ago, Shikamaru was reluctantly dragged by Kiba to some house belonging to god knows who. He remembered roaming around, drinking here and there, before stumbling into Temari, the girl of his dreams, as they say, even though she was probably the opposite.

"My dress." The girl commented, oddly calm and a little drunk with pink slightly tinting her cheeks, Shikamaru stood in shock as it registered who exactly he has bumped into, sure Shikamaru was upper middle class kind of rich, but this girl was rich-rich and everybody knew it since she moved into the giant mansion of a house at the end of Kohona Drive. Her green eyes looked up, officially unfreezing Shikamaru from his stupor as he took in the light traces of running mascara, the shining red of the tip of her nose, the way her teeth lightly bit at the corner of her lips as her brows lightly squished together. "It doesn't matter I guess."

Maybe it was the liquor, or maybe it was just the sight of a tearful girl that made him do it, but he reached out and took her hand. "Do you want to get outta here?"

Without warning she slapped him, not hard enough to leave a mark, but enough to make a point. "I'm not that easy, what do you take me for, are all men in this town prone to putting their hands on girls?"

The quick anger that seared up at her slap faded with concern, "I just meant we could get outta here and get some air if you want, not do anything." Her expression softened, and he proceeded with the question he wanted to ask, "Did...did someone try to handle you?"

She didn't answer, instead she lead him out of the crowd, toward the door and out into the front yard. They took a seat by a tree, leaning against its trunk, she was examining the stars with what seemed like a faraway look. "Ugh...I hate it."

"Hate what?" Shikamaru questioned, examining his cup, wondering if another drink was worth the possibility of dying by his mother's hands.

"Giving you this teary weak first impression, ugh I'm so embarrassed! And very drunk!" She rested her head on her knees, and sighed.

Taking a drink, He examined her with a smile. He had seen Temari on the first day of school, growling at everyone who dared to let their gaze linger. Who know that when he met her she would be upset?

Standing up he walked around the tree, and toward the front door, her green gaze following him questioning, as he turned back around suddenly and approached the tree again lazily. When he reached the tree, a faked surprised expression on his face, he held out his hand to her, "My names Shikamaru, I didn't know anyone was going to be here, I just wanted to get away from all that, I'll leave if you want me to."

As if to emphasize the chaos inside, the sound of a shattering window echoed in the street. Smiling, Temari took his hand, shaking it, "My name's Temari, you can join me if you want."

"Okay." He smiled, unknowingly shocking Temari with uncertain emotions at the sight, as he took his spot next to her again.

"Fuck you! Get your fucking hands off my fucking wrists!" Temari and Shikamaru turned to whiteness a familiar blonde being dragged out of the house by random party goers.

"That's Naruto, he sits with me in Math at the back of the room." Shikamaru commented, point at the blonde still howling curses as he walked backwards down the sidewalk.

"Yeah I know who he is, he's friends with my brother Gaara, has been since they were like ten." Temari commented, explaining, "we used to have a summer house here, and Gaara has wanted to spend the entire summer with Naruto on some-kind of road trip ever since he randomly ran into the kid at the park one afternoon, but that idiot always lands himself in summer school."

"Can I ask a personal question?" Shikamaru said suddenly.

"Who asks a question about a question?" Temari teased her face seemed pink with alcohol in that moment, "shoot!"

"Are your brother and Naruto ever like...have they ever been...like, okay well their both gay so have they ever..." Shikamaru struggled, Temari burst out laughing, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"Oh god no!" She answered, still laughing; "they are just friends! The closest they ever came was a small make-out session when they were thirteen, but that was it, and I never told you that."

"Seriously?" he replied, considering telling Kiba at least anyway since the guy was always giving him dirt on people.

After that, the pair always met in secret, with Temari's group of friends…and well his group of friends not mixing well together, plus their age difference, the two decided not to get involved in the whole mess of trying to pull the two sides together to be happy.

But Temari broke it off about a month or so ago, because her friends were starting to catch on that something wasn't right, she promised him that they would keep their distance just for now and then reunite in the summer and figure out what to do then, "You have to play your part to the very end." She explained to him. "Then, we can drop the curtain on the whole damn play."

And cue the dirty blond girl, stomping out of the building with an aura of irritation surrounding her. Shikamaru approached anyway, his anger overpowering any sense of fear or uneasiness. "Temari!"

She turned instantly, about to snap "what!" but faltering as her eyes grew wide at the sight of him. "Is it true?" he asked, his hands sinking into his pockets.

Instead of answering, she examined the empty parking lot as she clicked the remote on her keys for the doors of her brand new little Kia to unlock, "Get in the car."

They drove in total silence to a park, their favorite park.

Instead of getting out, they remained parked, looking out into the trails and golden glowing tree's as the sun began to fall out of the sky. Finally, then she answered him. "Is what true?"

"That you're pregnant with Sasuke's kid." Shikamaru let loose, not bothering with any sense of sugar coating.

"WHAT! NO!" Temari yelled, slapping him in the arm, her hand pausing in the air as thoughts ran in and out of her head, "Why? Where did you hear something like that?"

"Apparently, Kiba saw you and Sasuke in a gas station together; where he witnessed you purchase a pregnancy test." He explained, unable to keep the bitterness out of his voice, "I know your lying to me, so are you pregnant or not? Is it his?"

"Woah, whoa, hold it!" Temari shouted, letting her anger surge.

"No!" He shouted back, they both paused in an ironically pregnant silence, staring at one another with examining eyes.

"I'm not pregnant, and it sure as hell isn't Sasuke's." She responded eventually, seeing that Shikamaru wasn't going to give in that easy, "I know I said he was attractive once, but you don't have to hold that over my head. He's dating Sakura, and he's a total ass about it. As for the pregnancy test, I did suspect that I might have been, but it turns out I'm not, okay? So can you just drop it please?"

"I will when you start being honest with me." He countered; she cursed shaking her head and running her hands through her hair.

"How am I not being honest? I am telling you the damn truth!" her impatience flared, it was clear she wasn't going to fess up to anything.

"You know what, fine." Shikamaru stated, opening the car door, "Don't expect me to be waiting for you."

Temari sighed in the car behind him as he stormed off, he wasn't entirely wrong, but he wasn't entirety right either.

And that was the fucked up thing about the whole mess.

"You're late!" His mother called, he could hear her setting the kitchen table where his father was probably already sitting.

"I don't care, I'm not eating." He grumbled, wandering straight down the hall and into his room. Locking the door behind him just in case his mother decided to do that thing where she follows him and nags him until the freaking sun rises in the morning.

From the desk underneath his bunk bed, his cell phone vibrated violently. "What?!" he snapped into the phone without even bothering to check who it might be.

"Woah, what crawled up your ass and died." Kiba replied from the other side of the phone, Shikamaru sighed, he had secretly been hoping it would be Choji coming to his rescue for some random reason. He hasn't talked to him in months.

"Nothing, what do you want." He replied more calmly, rubbing his forehead with his free hand.

"To take you out to a party and live for once." Came a reply from the other end of the line, "Come on! It will be fun, just an hour drive out about and then that's it. Meet some girls, get laid, drink so much you get sick and end up in the hospital with your stomach pumped!"

Temari flashed in his mind for a brief second as he considered those words, "Will Sasuke be there?"

"Well….." Kiba hesitated, confirming Shikamaru's suspicions.

"I'll be there." He answered, closing the phone before he could actually get any details, he just wanted sleep, and considering what he was about to do.

He'd need it.

**I know he seems a tad too emotional maybe, but it does calm down in later chapters (O-o yes I've already written them and they are currently undergoing massive editing!) Anyway, he'll calm down a little later, but for now, idk I like him pissed XDDD**

**REVIEW**

**Also, let me know if something doesn't seem right? when i put it in the doc, some things changed and i have a feeling i havent been able to change it all for the better. **


	3. Chapter 3

**:D So this story is going to be like 14 chapters, and it might feel a little brief when you read it, but it's my first ShikaTema and I don't wanna fuck-up that bad XDD so give me a break! Let me know how I do!**

**Wait….have I said this before? **

**On with the story!**

* * *

**Chapter 3: The Box**

Saturday Feb. 23: Day Three

This was it.

That defining moment that would either confirm or deny all of Temari's suspicions. She eyed the box resting on her prized dresser from her bed, almost interrogating it for the answers she sought, only the box couldn't give the answer to hear, it was something she would have to do for herself.

If she managed to find the courage that is.

Temari had purchased this box approximately eight days ago at a gas station, far-far away from anyone she knew. Of course she still ran into Sasuke Uchiha who was apparently there on his way to go cheat on Sakura of all things.

But he didn't notice anything and that was fine with her.

Still she hadn't even opened it yet; she kept wavering between doing it with a friend, or by herself. No need to bring Shikamaru into the mix just yet right? Shikamaru, her stomach lurched, that idiot, couldn't he tell she was just scared? Couldn't he have just waited a little longer to talk to her?

She had managed to keep him out of her head for the past day, but now that this stupid box was staring her in the face, how could she not think of him?

Ugh, this was stupid! Snatching the box off the dresser, Temari flew open her door, breezing down the hallway so quickly she didn't notice her younger brother's door opening, the exiting person colliding with her almost instantly. "Ow." She whispered, instinctively covering her stomach as she caught herself from falling.

"Sorry Tem-"The blonde in front of her froze, his eyes gazing down at the box that had slid across the floor just two feet in front of them, and then back to her in realization. From behind him, her younger brother Gaara peeked around his shoulder, sending her a look before walking over to the box and picking it up with haste. Temari and Naruto held their breath, unsure of what was going to happen next.

Gaara simply looked up at her, his mouth twitching down slightly in an almost frown; he shook the box at her, "Pregnancy test Temari?"

"Well…."She shuffled her feet, reaching out slowly to take the box from him, not knowing what to really answer or even sure if she understood the question she just shrugged and answered, "I just need to be sure."

He nodded at that, motioning toward Naruto, "We'll take it with you. This isn't something you're going to do alone."

She wanted to argue, but she knew it would be pointless. She might be older, but Gaara was more stubborn than anyone she ever met. Walking toward the bathroom, she glanced behind her. Naruto and Gaara leaned against the hallway wall, seemingly in a whispered conversation about something.

Letting it go, she took a breath and prayed as the door clicked shut behind her.

"What's it say?" Naruto immediately exclaimed as she opened the door, the two boys were pressed on either side, blocking her way.

Getting agitated, she shoved past him, "I don't know I have to wait!"

"Well let's go into the game room then!" Naruto exclaimed, running his hands through his hair crazily, "Just bring it with you so I don't have to suffer in the hall with nothing to do all day, what else are rich friends good for if you can't play with their crap!"

"Tonight you sleep outside." Gaara stated. Naruto dropped to his knees, hugging his pant legs tightly, begging for mercy. Temari managed to giggle at the sight, despite of the test gnawing at her conscious. They ended up in the game room after Naruto was granted forgiveness; she left the box and its contents on the bathroom counter carefully, her stomach sinking at the thought of its results as she took a seat on the couch next to Naruto.

"What are you going to do if it's positive?" Gaara said suddenly from the armchair next her, as Naruto flicked on the TV and dug into the vast world of online gaming.

"I don't know." She admitted, her hands dragged themselves to her stomach once again as she felt pressed under his gaze.

"Who is the father?" he asked, she was growing tired of these questions already.

"Don't do anything Gaara." She warned, he only stared at her, but she knew he wouldn't do anything at her request. "Shikamaru."

"Nara?!" Naruto paused his game, sitting up on the couch instantly with his mouth gaping open, "Like the lazy guy, with the tired looking eyes, and the sarcasm?"

"Yeah." She replied, crossing her arms at the description of him. Gaara visibly reacted, his eyebrows scrunching together.

"Didn't know he had it in him?" Gaara said, letting his face relax again as he sunk further into the armchair, staring at the paused screen.

"I know right?!" Naruto exclaimed, the control slipping out of his hands on to the floor, he hastily went for it sending Gaara a don't-kill-me look, but his friend wasn't even paying any attention.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Temari vented, glaring at the two boys who fell silent without a reply. She checked her watch, nearly choking on her exhale. It was time.

Standing, her heart nearly pounded out of her chest, as she walked down the hallway toward the bathroom door. What was she going to do? How would she do it? Would she have to….no, she could never. Slowly she pushed open the door; her test was waiting for her patiently as if it didn't contain the end of the world as she knew it.

Taking a slow deep breath, she leaned over the counter with her head hovering over the test and her eyes closed. Courage, she needed to have courage. She peeked, her heart sinking at the sight in front of her.

"What is it?" Gaara's voice called to her from the doorway, she gulped.

"Positive."

* * *

The three now sat around the same dining table Temari had sat with her friends just yesterday, each clutching a drink but not drinking it. She was thankful Kankuro wasn't here; otherwise he'd already be on the way to Shikamaru's house with some kind of weapon.

"So…" Naruto started, but then faded off as he gazed down into his cup, Gaara seemed lost in thought, and Temari. Temari just sat there in shock, because while she did _know_, she didn't know for sure, and now that she did everything is going to change.

Did any of that even make any sense? "For now, let's just keep this a secret until we figure out what to do." Gaara said suddenly, grasping the handle of his mug, "Don't tell Kankuro, and especially stay away from telling Dad. I'll find you a doctor, just take care of yourself and buy some books, no wait, maybe just read them in the store."

"Can I tell Hinata?" Normally, when Gaara told her to do something she always dragged her feet unwillingly but for once she wanted his bossy qualities in her life to aid her.

"Go ahead, but no one else." He answered, lifting the cup and taking a brief sip, "Especially not Ino or Sakura."

Those two were always spreading rumors so she didn't really need to be told that, but Gaara said it anyway. After they all managed to finish their drinks, Naruto and Gaara left for some party a few miles away, they invited Temari but she declined because she would rather stay away from all that crap.

Now alone in the house, she grabbed her cellphone and paced around the kitchen. Continuously changing her mind about what she wanted to eat, as she stared at Hinata's icon. _Spinach? Oh but there's also pizza in the freezer! Wait, there's ice-cream in the freezer. Wait! Wait; are those banana chips in the pantry I see? _Reaching out she snatched the bag off the shelf, Kankuro would kill her for eating them without his permission but he could kiss her soon to be very fat-pregnant whale sized ass.

Frowning at the thought, she pressed the green call symbol on her phone. "Hello?" Hinata immediately answered, Temari groaned, she was at least hoping for some kind of wait.

"Are you alone?" Temari questioned, she heard Hinata pause, presumably looking around.

"Ino's over, but she's in the bathroom taking a shower." Hinata answered through the sound of shuffling pots and pans screeched through the phone, "I'm washing the dishes for breakfast, so talk now while it's loud."

She smiled at Hinata's understanding; this wasn't as hard as she thought it was going to be, "Hinata, I'm pregnant." Temari held the phone away as the loud clamoring of a dropped pan echoed through the line.

"W-what?" Hinata answered, her voiced panicked, "D-do I need to come over?"

"You can if you want; I just need someone to know." Temari replied, sighing unintentionally as she popped a banana chip in her mouth, well she needed someone female to know anyway.

"I'll bring banana's." came Hinata's reply, Temari smiled at the sound, excited to know that she at least had people to back her up.

But what about Shikamaru?

* * *

**So…..*SLAM SLAM SLAM DOUBLE SLAM WITH A SIDE OF STAB STAB STAB! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH….cough….aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaHH HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH~! ***

**Alright, you can review now. **


	4. Chapter 4

**I don't know why? But I get all flustered when I'm writing Shikamaru XDD that's one of the main reasons I've never done SHIKATEMA before! Let me know how I do!**

**Also I have to say, that while watching him in the Road to ninja movie, he pretty much did the gayest/ most female looking pose I've ever seen?! So….I took a screen shot and made it my background naturally, and now I cant exit out of a story because if I do I crack up so hard its not even funny O-o, SO YAY FOR KEEPING ME WRITING**

**On with the story~!**

* * *

**Chapter 4: Another Freaking Party**

Saturday, Feb. 23: Day Three

Shit.

He wanted to talk to her, it has been two days since their stupid fight, and he wanted to talk to her. He wanted to drag his ass out of bed, even though it was 5:30 in the morning on a Saturday to walk over to her house and bang on her door. He wanted it not to be true, he wanted the truth.

Shit, shit, shit, shit, double shit with an extra helping of fuck, son of a bitch shit.

"Tro-"he didn't let the words slip out of his mouth, instead he just turned around and buried his face into his pillow, muttering a cadence of "shits" into the fluffy object, how the hell did he get so irrational so quickly. _Either its hormones….or my mother's genes showing their face._

Unhappy with either proposal, he sat up and leaned against his headboard, peeking outside into the morning scene of your normal local friendly neighborhood. Without warning, his door swung open, revealing his Mother looking angry in a bathrobe. The sight was more frightening then the threat of an intruder breaking in the room.

Paralyzed, he could only watch as she entered his room, inspecting the area for anything dirty she could nag him about. Apparently finding nothing, the woman turned around to inspect her son, noting the genuinely tired looking bags under his eyes, and the perfect neatness of a bed un-slept in.

Now this was an unsatisfactory sight for her eyes.

"What's wrong?" she asked him, unsure if it would really work, but being a Mother she decided, _why not give it a shot anyway? _

"What do you mean?" He replied, knowing full well what she meant, he really just didn't want to answer. How do you even begin that kind of conversation?

Reaching out she slapped his leg, it sounded hard but in actuality it wasn't really, it was just firm enough to really grab his attention, "I carried you in my body for months, fed you, bathed you, and clothed you for years. So I know when something is bothering you, and I know you're smarter than to ask questions like that one."

He wasn't really sure how to respond, he could only stare at her waiting intense expression as she towered above him with her arms crossed, hugging at her robe. "I got into a fight with a friend." He settled on, "Nothing big."

Doubt was clearly visible on her face, but she seemed to let it go, "Well since you're up early, get up and get started on your chores. I want them done before you run off with your friends." And with that, she turned around and closed the door behind her, leaving her son to curse more and more in his bed.

Why didn't he think to at least fake sleep?

* * *

"Remind me why I'm friends with you?" He asked Kiba who was singing along with a song on the radio, bobbing his head back and forth. He'd already been through ten minutes of this, it didn't seem to stop.

"For someone who is always complaining about them, you're a real drag." Kiba commented, shutting off the radio anyway, when something suddenly caught his attention, "Look at that." In front of them a car was slowly weaving around cars without the use of a blinker, nearly hitting the car in front of them. Slowing down as they continued to weave in and out of traffic, they passed the car, catching a glimpse of two familiar faces.

"Was that just-?" Kiba started, point his thumb behind him.

"Yep." Shikamaru answered, trying to catch a glimpse in the rearview mirror.

"And they just-?"Kiba started again, staring ahead in disbelief.

"Yep." Shikamaru answered, relaxing into his seat.

"Wow." Kiba laughed, shaking his head, looking behind him, "Look at that, here they come."

Sure enough, just a second later the car caught up to them again, the infamous Gaara in the driver's seat accompanied by a nervous looking Naruto as he point to various things on the dashboard. Together they were often referred to as Mustard&Ketchup, but never to their face. Amused, the two watched as the car changed lanes into the space ahead of them. The pair seemed to be arguing, with Naruto looking through the rear window at them occasionally, and waving his arms around frantically. The car took an exit off the highway without warning, leaving Shikamaru and Kiba behind in a daze.

"Well that was interesting." Shikamaru commented. Kiba only nodded beside him, "Do you think they were going to the party to?"

"Probably, Gaara's rich enough to be invited and chip in on the beer fund." Kiba commented, shrugging at the well-known fact of his next words, "even if he's gay."

"I never have figured out what the big deal is on that." Shikamaru confessed, leaning his head on the window, "It's not like he's ever hit on anyone before."

"Well no…but I mean think about it! Like in the locker room, when we're getting dressed and he's there I can't help but wonder if he's checking at least somebody out. Cause he's there and he's a guy, and-I don't know how to describe it!" Kiba shuddered in his seat, as he turned the radio back on. "It's just weird, but that's the only thing that gets me."

"Whatever." Shikamaru commented, leaning back in his seat and closing his eyes, "Don't bother me, I'm going to sleep until we get there."

"Whatever you say boss." replied Kiba going back to his private dance party.

He'd managed to get a nap, but even so it really wasn't nearly enough sleep to handle this fiasco. The party had settled on the beach, one away from the hotspots where they could get plenty of privacy, a typical setting for anything hosted by the famous basketball team. People were stumbling around with bright red plastic cups, some attempting to dance to the music coming from a giant stereo on the back of someone's truck while others were busy just standing around or jumping in the tides of the water.

Shikamaru spotted Kiba talking to some chick near the makeshift campfire in the center of the area. Of course, his head drifted around, caught by the sight of bright yellow hair. So mustard had split up from ketchup and was talking to Sai of all people? The one other person Shikamaru was looking to talk to other than Sasuke all night.

Speaking of Sasuke, he scanned the crowd. _If I were an asshole where would I be? Oh wait, of course_. Shikamaru turned around; searching the series of parked cars in the background of the party he spotted his target watching the party-goers just like he had been.

He considered his original plan, but that would be acting irrationally right? After all there was a possibility that the whole thing with Sasuke and Temari wasn't really true….he remembered her face, she was lying about something…hell she was probably lying about everything. Trying to keep his cool, he stalked forward toward Sasuke Uchiha, now lounging on the front of his car with the beer bottle in his hands resting on the hood.

"Sasuke!" called Shikamaru once he was standing above him, looking down at the isolated teen. "Come on, I have a question for you!" He shook the raven's right foot, causing the other boy to sit up on the hood.

"What the fuck do you want?" There it was, the part of Sasuke Shikamaru absolutely detested. What the hell was it about him that made him so freaking popular? "Well….spit it out!"

"Did you get Temari pregnant?" he spat, Sasuke groaned, rubbing at his eyes and leaning back on the car as Nara repeated. "Did you?"

"Hn." Was his only reply, as he breathed in and out slowly, effectively pissing Shikamaru off. He reached out, jabbing Sasuke in the stomach with his fist. "What the fuck?!"

"Answer the question." Shikamaru replied, keeping his voice calm and steady. Don't be irrational, don't be irrational.

"Yeah sure, whatever okay! It's not really my problem!" Sasuke replied, shrugging as he slid off the hood of the car, shoving past Shikamaru and walking toward the hollering teens.

In the end, his irrationally won.

* * *

**Nara-love: I LOVE YOU! Lol thanks i was hoping it would be a bit different, I really hope I do an okay job**

**Miko: I UPDATE DAILY AT THIS RATE XDDD**

**REVIEW~~~! Also if you want to know more about Sasuke, then freaking READ WHISPERS OF A PARTY DAMN IT**


	5. Chapter 5

**Honestly, this one is just kind of a stupid filler chapter, it doesn't even really matter XDD I just wrote it so it wouldn't ruin my formatting if you can get that.**

* * *

**Chapter 5: Cookbook**

Sunday Feb. 24: Day Four

"Look! They have a recipe on here for banana fruit salad, Temari." Hinata was enthusiastically pouring through cookbooks with Temari, trying to find some healthier foods for her to eat during…well…her nine month…sickness.

"Write it on the card." Temari grinned, handing her and index card from across the table. They were busy making a recipe box, Hinata's idea, to help Temari feel at least a little bit more prepared. Yesterday, after coming over, Hinata dragged Temari off to buy vitamins and other things that she suggested Temari might need. The experience was both comforting and stressful for her, but Temari went along with it. She was pregnant, that's something someone generally has to get used to right?

"So…are we telling anyone else, or is this staying between us?" Temari studied Hinata who was busy writing, once-upon-a-time Hinata was stuttering her way through almost every sentence , so shy she barely made eye-contact with anyone, but over the years she has gotten to the point where she only stutters when embarrassed or surprised, and only looked away from eye-contact on occasion.

"For now, I just want to keep it between us." Temari answered, shuffling through the freshly written cards, spying words that made her mouth water as she read them. "It's just; I need to know what I need to do before everyone is staring at me in the hallways with judgmental looks."

"Yeah." Her friend agreed, flipping through the pages with understanding. She was glad now that it was Hinata alone that she told. "What about the father?"

"Oh well…." Temari replied, staring down at pages of her own cookbook were a beef stew was trying to draw her in. "I haven't decided yet?"

"Well….what about your Dad? How are you going to see the doctors that you need to?" The girl was understandably concerned, while Temari's father was regularly absent from his children's lives, and even lived in a whole different house in a whole different part of the world, he was still a well-known hard-ass. Especially toward his daughter, who only reminded him of his dead wife every time he looked at her, it was like he was always taking out some kind of frustration on her. If Temari did something, it was criticized almost immediately, and this would only make the man a thousand times worse than he'd ever been.

Now that Temari thought about it, Hinata's Dad was actually kind of the same way with her. Maybe that's why they got along so well?

"I'm eighteen now, or at least I will be soon, I should be able to do things by myself, and besides Gaara said he would help me with that. And I'm not even going to question how." Grasping Hinata's hand firmly, she reassured her that everything was really going to be all right.

She hoped.

* * *

Sunday Night Feb. 24:

Temari was going to have to get a job.

Plans filled her mind, swirling round and round against the bones of her skull as the pressure weighed on her thoughts. How was she going to do this? Where was she going to go in the event of her father kicking her out? What about Shikamaru? Why can't she just tell him yet?

In a way it was a bad dream, and in another it was just a sinking stone of reality plopping into her at the end she only had one question.

Who was really going to be there in the end?

* * *

**Very, very short I know, but really the whole point was just too kind of give more of a point on Temari's situation with other characters, you know?**

**And to maybe just satisfy my WOCD**


	6. Chapter 6

**I personally, love this part XDD I know it seems kind of out of character, but idk I like it. **

**ON with the story**

* * *

**Chapter 6: The Green Light**

3:15 am Sunday February 24: Day Four

"You alright?" questioned Kiba, nervously gripping the sides of his steering wheel while he sneaked peeks at the seething lazy friend beside him. Shikamaru had more to drink than Kiba even thought was humanly possible, and maybe even a few other choice drugs from other members of the party, he was apparently still awake but muttering and punching the seat around him.

"HM." Shikamaru replied loudly, closing his eyes and covering his ears, "I'm fine."

"Whatever." Kiba answered, skeptical about Shikamaru's real situation. He'd never seen anything like it, and briefly he wondered if he should pick up the phone and call Choji for advice. But then he remembered that the two had a terrible fight, and for some reason neither one seemed to want to apologize to the other. "You won't be soon if we don't beat my Mom home!"

"Why…why is everything so stupid?" slurred his normally collected friend, Kiba didn't know what to make of this. Normally, their positions would be somewhat reversed but Kiba would probably be passed out or rambling about all the women at the party. If Gaara and Kankuro never dragged him off and kept him busy with making sure the booze level was kept at a happy rate and set him up to fill the role of DJ, then they would be screwed, because they would both be stinking drunk. "Hey, hey you listen."

"Okay, okay I'm listening." He grumbled, as Shikamaru tried to hit him in the arm, but missed.

"Women….women suck! They're just freaking crazy, man, I don't even know they are just….fuck…" Kiba knew his friend had some issues, but he didn't know they were this bad? But instead of openly questioning it, he just decided to pretend to listen to his friend ramble and even _giggle_ of all things. "And Sasuke Uchiha, asshole. Sitting on his car, doing whatever the hell…I hate him, I want him to go away. Hey, hey Kiba."

Sighing, Kiba tried not to laugh as his friend attempted to sit up in his seat and seemed to fail as he tried tugging at the seatbelt. "Wh-what?"

"Pull over, over there. Pull." Obeying, Kiba wasn't the least bit surprised when Shikamaru leaned out of the car, puking into the grass side road. Wiping his mouth, he leaned back into the car seat, managing to close the door and put his seatbelt back on while feeling somewhat more sober as he continued on. "Kiba?"

"Yeah." He replied, bracing himself for something life shattering to come out his friends mouth as he resumed his driving.

"I-I could really use a donut, with frosting and extra sprinkles." He replied, shoving the seat belt away from his chin as he closed his eyes. "Or maybe, I don't know. Maybe a sandwich, but no crust. None!"

Kiba felt his friend finger poke him in the cheek, twice, and tried not to burst out laughing. Mostly because Shikamaru looked like he was gravely serious, and he didn't know what to think. "I'm doing this with you more often."

Suddenly, Shikamaru pulled his hand away and leaned against the glass window, "I'm a huge dick."

"Uhhh….well I don't think so?" _Shit. What am I supposed to do? _Kiba pounded himself mentally; this would normally be Choji's role, not his.

"No, no I am, I yell at people all the time. People who I care about, because I'm stupid. Everything is stupid! Puberty is stupid." and then there was silence. Kiba wasn't sure if his friend was just pausing to think or passed out, but when he managed to look over he was relieved to see that he was sleeping with his hands tangled in the seatbelt.

He took a picture just to savor the moment.

* * *

Monday Feb 25: Day Five

Shikamaru glared at the phone screen shoved in his face, dancing around in front of him. It was himself, entangled in his own seatbelt with drool running down the side of his mouth. That's the last time he would ever accept a few "happy pills" from Sai and then chug bottle after bottle of cheap gross beer just to get the images of that asshole and Temari out of his head.

He could really use a chat with Choji.

Peering behind Kiba's laughing head, he spotted his best friend in the whole world wrapped around one of those people he would choke on air and die before he ever spoke to. Ino Yamanaka. Truth be told, he'd known her since the first grade, back when they used to build sand castles together and splashed around in kiddie pools. Considering they were next-door neighbors on Kohona Drive, Shikamaru watched the headstrong little girl turn into the headstrong plastic bitch she was today.

Gross.

Focusing back on Kiba, he decided that he didn't care anymore; he'd just have to get it over with and be done with it all, because as blurry as the party seemed now he did recall the conversation with Sasuke enough to know the answers he sought. "Remember that thing you told me about Sasuke and Temari?"

"Yeah." Kiba answered eagerly leaning in to the conversation, "The one you told me to keep to myself because you wanted to use it for blackmail."

"Yeah well, plans changed. You can talk about it all you want now." And with that, Kiba was off, making himself comfortable at the nearest table and whispering to its occupants.

This was the end, and he was just fine with that.

* * *

**Im freaking hungry! Anyway, review and let me know what you think. **


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